Books Read - July 2015

Arthur, Ruth M.

• A Candle in Her Room ****

Fiction.  Melissa Mansell and her family inherit an old house in Wales.  Melissa’s youngest sister finds an old wooden doll that has ties to witchcraft, and it causes no end of trouble in their family. 

Ash, Maureen

• Murder for Christ’s Mass *****

Fiction.  Fourth in the medieval mystery series set in England and starring Bascot de Marins.  Just a few days before Christmas, a body is discovered at the bottom of a quarry, but it is no accident.  The man had been stabbed in the chest before being rolled into the quarry, and only a single silver penny has been left at the site.  A few days later, and another body is found.  Bascot must find out if the two murders are related and who the killer is.

• A Plague of Poison ****

Fiction.  Third in the Middle Ages mystery series starring Bascot de Marins, a Templar Knight.  Bascot and his ward, Gianni, are waiting at Lincoln Castle for the sheriff to return, when a series of poisonings occur, and Bascot must work with the castellan Nicolaa de la Haye to solve the cases before more people are killed.

Blake, Deborah

• Everyday Witch A to Z ****

Non-fiction.  Trivia style book full of great information interspersed with witchy humor.

• Everyday Witchcraft *****

Non-fiction.  Sequel to The Goddess Is In The Details.  How to bring our spiritual life into our mundane life.

• The Goddess Is In The Details *****

Non-fiction.  Incorporating our religion into our daily lives, an advanced look at the Everyday Witch.

• Wickedly Dangerous *****

Fiction.  Second in the Baba Yaga series.  Barbara Yager, one of the Baba Yagas working in the U.S., has been summoned to the small town of Dunhill, where children have gone missing.  She, along with the Riders, Chudo-Yudo, and the local sheriff band together to find the children and to punish those responsible.

• Wickedly Magical *****

Fiction.  First in the Baba Yaga urban fantasy series.  Baba Yaga Barbara is approached by a man seeking her help in retrieving his two young daughters from a conman his wife has taken up with.  Using her magical powers, Barbara manages to obtain the magical amulet the conman has been using for his own gain.

• Wickedly Wonderful *****

Fiction.  Third in the Baba Yaga urban fantasy series.  Baba Yaga Beka looks like a  typical, and gorgeous, California surfer girl.  She lives in a converted school bus with her Chudo-Yudo, a very large Newfoundland.  Beka’s still very new to being a Baba, and she has doubts about her abilities to do the job well.  Her first big job comes when the Queen of the Mer people and the King of Selkies petition her to find out what is making their people so ill.  She requests the help of a cranky former Marine whose father owns a fishing boat to take her out onto the ocean so she can dive down and see what has been poisoning the oceanfolk.

• Witch Ever Way You Can ****

Fiction.  First in the Star Stone series.  Deirdre is a Witch and a writer who lives in upstate New York in a 100-year-old farm house with five cats (rather like the author).  She received a call from a billionaire to help him by performing some magick, and he offers her a lot of money to do it.  As long as it doesn’t interfere with another’s will or harms anyone, she is willing to consider it.  As an extra bonus, the billionaire Stephen Tyler, has arranged for her to have a dinner date with her heartthrob actor Rob.  After the date, they meet up with Tyler in his hotel suite, and he produces a sealed box.  He wants Dee to open it, and the adventure begins.

• Witch Upon a Star ***

Fiction.  Novella from the Star Stone series.  Rob Addison, Deirdre’s boyfriend, asks her to help him solve the problem with a  blighted area of the Louisiana wetlands.  She tries, unsuccessfully, to use regular magick on it, but it’s not until she uses the Star Stone that the land is healed.

Camfield, Thomas W.

• Port Townsend: An Illustrated History of Shanghaiing, Shipwrecks, Soiled Doves and Sundry Souls *****

Non-fiction.  An history of the Victorian seaport of Port Townsend, located on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington.

Collins, Suzanne

• Catching Fire *****

Fiction.  Second in the Hunger Games trilogy.  Katniss and Peeta are home in District 12, but they are having trouble dealing with the relationship that they were forced into during the Hunger Games.  Katniss still has feelings for Gale, and Peeta is convinced that he’s lost her.  As they take their Victory Tour around the districts, strange things begin happening.  Unrest begins, and Katniss still has to deal with the President’s hatred toward her.  Her fears that he will attack come true when history repeats itself, and Katniss and Peeta must once again fight for their lives.

• Hunger Games *****

Fiction.  First in a dystopian trilogy.  Every year a boy and a girl are chosen from each of twelve districts to participate in the Hunger Games, a brutal test of survival and killing skills.  When Katniss’s young sister is chosen for District 12, Katniss quickly volunteers to take her place.  The baker’s son, Peeta, is chosen as the male participant for their district, and Katniss fears the time she might have to kill him to save her own life.

• Mockingjay *****

Fiction.  Third in the Hunger Games trilogy.  Katniss and her family and friends have escaped to District 13, formerly believed to have been annihilated, but the survivors have simply moved underground.  Katniss is still in danger from President Snow who wishes to destroy her and the symbol she is to the rebels.  Though unwilling at first, Katniss finally becomes the Mockingjay who will lead the rebels in their fight to freedom.

Dedman, Bill

• Empty Mansions *****

Non-fiction.  Biography of copper mining heiress Huguette Clark who lived a reclusive life for most of her 105 years.

Dugan, Ellen

• Secret of the Rose **

Fiction.  Second in the Legacy of Magick series starring Autumn, a woman who recently discovered that she has magickal powers.  She lives with her aunt and cousins while she attends graduate school and is having a romance with Duncan, a member of another magickal family in a town full of magickal families.  Upon finding an album that contains her family tree, she learns that she has a half-brother and is determined to find him.  The family is also seeking pages of the Blood Rose Grimoire, a book that was torn into four parts with the hope that it would never be put back together again.

Dugan, Ellen & Tess Whitehurst

• Every Witch Way ***

Non-fiction.  Two very different witches’ opinions on different topics in their spiritual path.

Evanovich, Janet

• Wicked Charms ****

Fiction.  Third in the humorous paranormal cozy mystery series starring Lizzy and Diesel.  Diesel is in Lizzy’s life to recover eight special stones.  They have two, and Diesel’s evil cousin has one of them.  This time they’re searching for the Avaritia Stone, the stone of avarice.  They aren’t the only ones searching.  Diesel’s cousin, Wulf, wants it, as do a Trump-like businessman and a history professor.  It’s a search for treasure.

Galenorn, Yasmine

• Flight from Death *****

Fiction.  Book two in the urban fantasy series set in Seattle and starring Shimmer, a blue dragon, and Alex, her vampire boss.  An old friend of Alex’s contacts him to help rid his B&B of ghosts.  Shimmer is excited to visit the Victorian seaport of Port Townsend, and after some twists and turns, they arrive at the High Tide Inn along with their werewolf co-worker, Ralph.  Patrick invites them into the inn, and right away they feel negative energy surrounding them.  Energy that comes from something much more dangerous than ghosts.

Graham, Heather

• Ghost Memories ****

Fiction.  Novella prequel to the Bone Island Trilogy set in Key West.  Bartholomew was a privateer who fell in love with the beautiful Victoria.  She returned his love, and they planned to spend the rest of their lives together, once Victoria convinced her father that Bartholomew was a worthy man.  Their relationship was doomed from the beginning, and Bartholomew was hanged for her death, though he was innocent of the crime.  

• Ghost Moon ****

Fiction.  Final book in the Bone Island Trilogy.  Cutter Merlin dies alone in his house full of oddities.  Liam has the task of calling Cutter’s granddaughter to let her know of his passing.  When Kelsey hears the news, she berates herself for not fulfilling her promise to Cutter to return home from California, but she finally does fly home to bury Cutter and to put his house in order.  Cutter had a reputation of being a Satanist, one who practices the dark arts, and as such there are many rumors flying around town after his death.  When Kelsey arrives home, something is amiss in the house.  Something unseen.  Something that wants her.

Hamilton, Laurell K.

• Divine Misdemeanors ***

Fiction.  8th in the Merry Gentry urban fantasy series.  Merry is a faerie princess who has left behind fairyland and lives in Los Angeles with her retinue of male and female guards and lovers.  She’s pregnant now, by six men, and is carrying two children.  Her friend, police detective Lucy, calls her in to help investigate the deaths of some demi-fey who are staged in scenes from children’s stories.  As deaths continue to happen, Merry and her followers need to figure out who the serial-killers are, before they lose one of their own.

Jackson, Melanie

• Moving Violation ***

Fiction.  First in the Chloe Boston cozy series.  Chloe is a tiny meter maid with big aspirations.  She wants to be a detective, but no one will take her seriously, and she really needs to make a good  impression on the new Chief of Police.  She’s not off to a good start, but when her partner goes missing, she decides to undertake the investigation of his disappearance on her own.

• Mysterious Island *****

Fiction.  Fifth in the Wendover mystery series.  The storms around the islands are getting worse and worse and seem to have a supernatural effect to them.  Tess is woken by someone pounding on her front door, but it’s not a normal knocking.  It has a very regular beat and is pounding so hard she fears the door might crack.  Is it friend or foe?

• On Deadly Tides ***

Fiction.  Third in the Wendover mystery series.   A body washes up on Little Goose island who bears a striking resemblance to Kelvin Wendover, Tess’s great-grandfather, who died and was buried six months previously.  When Kelvin’s casket is opened and no body is found, Tess determines to figure out what is going on.

• Pieces of Hate ***

Fiction.  Fourth in the Wendover mystery series.  A storm rages outside waking Tess, and when she crosses to the window, she sees a strange green glow coming from the beach.  Knowing she has to see what it is, she hurries down to the beach and finds a small wooden chest covered with barnacles on the sand.  Another curse is connected to the Wendover family, this one is related to a pirate ancestor of her.  Deaths will continue to happen unless she can resolve the curse.

• The Secret Staircase ****

Fiction.  First in the Wendover mystery series.  Tess’s great-grandfather whom she never knew has left her the Wendover house  on a remote island off the Maine coast.  She’s the last of her family, and since her grandmother had run away from the island when she got married and never spoke of the Wendover family, Tess grew up knowing nothing about them.  When she arrives on Little Goose island, she’s surprised to find herself enchanted by the quirky house with no electricity, but she’s not alone in the house, and she soon finds herself surrounded by mystery.

• Twelfth Night ***

Fiction.  Second in the Wendover mystery series.  Tess and her friends are gathered at the house during a storm.  They’re telling supposedly true ghost stories, experiences that they’ve had.  Tess has engineered this party in order to tell the story of her ancestor, Hannah Wendover, who was executed for being a witch.  Hannah’s ghost has been haunting her for awhile, and Tess wants to set her to rest.

Lee, Harper

• Go Set A Watchman **

Fiction.  Prequel to To Kill A Mockingbird.  Scout is now an adult living in New York City.  She returns home to Maycomb for her annual visit with her father, and what she finds there shakes her world.  Life there is nothing like she remembers from her youth, the town is being poisoned by racial prejudice, and she is disillusioned by her father.

Orenduff, J. Michael

• The Pot Thief Who Studied Ptolemy ****

Fiction.  Second in the Pot Thief cozy mystery series.  Hubie is commonly called a “pot thief”, because he digs up ancient pottery in the desert of New Mexico, but he is very observant of cultural feelings and only digs on public property, never on a reservation or on private property.  These pots he sells for a great deal of money, but he also copies the originals and sells the copies for a reduced rate, though still for quite a bit of money.  A former professor of anthropology at the university contacts Hubie to locate 18 pots that he suspects were stolen by the head of the department.  When said head of the department is found dead, Hubie is the number one suspect.

Books Read - June 2015

Archer, Connie

• Ladle to the Grave ****

Fiction.  Fourth in the cozy mystery series set in Snowflake, Vermont.  Lucky’s best friend, Sophie, is about to marry Sage, the wonderful chef at the Spoonful, and she wants them to move into her mother’s cabin after the marriage.  While Sophie and Lucky are checking on the cabin, they find a mangled body in the creek on the property.  Sophie is shocked when she’s told that the body might be that of her long lost brother, and the property might be the reason he was killed.

• A Roux of Revenge ****

Fiction.  Third in a cozy mystery series set in Snowflake, Vermont.  Lucky Jamieson and her grandfather own By the Spoonful, a soup restaurant in the small town.  It’s time for the Harvest Festival, and Lucky is planning a big holiday event.  Nate, the local chief of police, has been called out to investigate a car crash, and to his surprise, he finds the cause of death wasn’t the accident but a bullet hole.

Arlington, Lucy

• Played by the Book ****

Fiction.  Fourth in a cozy mystery series set in Inspiration Valley, a lovely little town where many of the shops and restaurants have literary-based names, including the Novel Idea literary agency where Lila Wilkins works.  She lives in a lovely cottage with her son, Trey, a college student who works at Lila’s favorite coffee house during the summers.  He also helps out at home, and when Lila asks several of his friends and him to do a little work on the garden, he willingly picks up a spade...only to dig up a skull under her hedgerows.

Chambers, Anne

• Pirate Queen of Ireland ****

Fiction.  Story of Granuaile, Grace O’Malley, pirate queen of Ireland.

Charles, Ann

• Boot Points ****

Fiction.  A short story from her Deadwood cozy mystery series and several other un-related tales.

• The Great Jackalope Stampede *****

Fiction.  Third in the humorous cozy mystery series set in Jackalope Junction, Arizona.  Claire’s two sisters and her mother have joined the crew at the RV park, and tempers are flying high all around.  Ronnie finds out that a gold pocketwatch from the 17th century is hidden in Ruby’s safe, thanks to Ruby’s former husband, black market thief extraordinaire.  When she investigates it at the library, she finds that it was stolen from a German castle, and knowing that the thief’s partners are sniffing around for anything he left behind, Ronnie has to find a place to keep it even safer.

• Seeing Trouble ****

Fiction.  A short story from her Deadwood cozy mystery series and another un-related tale.

Dams, Jeanne M.

• The Gentle Art of Murder *****

Fiction.  16th in the Dorothy Martin cozy series set in England.  Dorothy, an ex-pat American who has lived in England since her first husband died, is now married to a former chief constable.  They join a young friend to tour a nearby art school, and while they are in the studio building, they stumble over a body who suffered several attempts at murder.

Dugan, Ellen

• Natural Psychic *****

Non-fiction.  Discussion on the different psychic skills, how they can be enhanced, and how to protect against psychic attack.

Fluke, Joanne

• Double Fudge Brownie Murder ***

Fiction.  22nd in the cozy mystery series set in Lake Eden, Minnesota.  Hannah leaves the running of her cookie shop in the hands of her partner, as she and her sisters fly to Vegas for their mother’s wedding.  When the groom’s man appears, Hannah is surprised to see an old college friend, and they kindle a romance.  When she returns home, she has to face a trial for homicidal manslaughter after she accidentally killed a man with her Cookie Truck.  When they arrive at the courthouse, she finds the judge dead on the floor.

Golden, Karen

• The Cats That Chased the Storm ****

Fiction.  Second in the cozy mystery starring Katz and her four felines.  Since moving into her great-aunt’s pink mansion, strange things are happening in the house.  Footsteps can be heard, loud crashing sounds in different rooms, and some rooms the cats absolutely won’t enter.  During a tornado warning, Katz runs down to the basement to take shelter as the storm batters the house.  Something hits her on the back of the head, and when she recovers, she realizes that a brick wall has tumbled down.  When she looks into the wall, she finds a skull.

• The Cats That Told a Fortune ****

Fiction.  Third in a cozy mystery series starring Katz, inheritor of her great-aunt’s vast fortune including a pink Queen Anne mansion.  And a cat.  Katz begins teaching her first class of computer students at the mansion, but one of them is very disruptive and is removed from the course.  Unfortunately for Katz, the woman is a member of the local crime family, one who doesn’t take well to being snubbed.

Landis, Jill Marie

• Three to Get Lei’d ***

Fiction.  Third in the cozy mystery series set on Kaua’i.  Em and her uncle run the Tiki Goddess, a bar on the North Shore, frequented by locals and tourists alike.  Em is having a hard time dealing with the television crew filming a reality show based at the bar, but she knows that it’s great for business and that her uncle is really enjoying the celebrity.  When one of the camera men is found dead in the kitchen with the chef’s special sashimi knife sticking out of his chest, suspicious falls on the chef, and Em is worried, because she’d seen the chef hurrying away from the bar right before the body was found.

• Too Hot Four Hula ****

Fiction.  Fourth in the cozy mystery series set in Hawai’i.  Louie, Em and the Hula Maidens are headed to Waikiki for the Western Regional Shake Off contest, where Louie’s cocktails are sure to be a hit.  Upon arrival though, Louie’s famous Booze Bible is missing.  Em has her hands full meeting up with her ex-husband who wants to introduce her to his new fiancee.  The next day, Em is told that her ex-husband has been murdered.  Luckily, Roland has arrived from Kaua’i to  help her solve the mystery.

Laxalt, Robert

• The Land of My Fathers *****

Non-fiction.  Memoir of the author who was raised in a Basque sheepherding family in Nevada, who returns to Pays Basque in France to live for two years in the land of his parents.  His remembrances and story of the Basque people and how they live.

Morrison, Toni

• Beloved *****

Fiction.  The story of three women and a man who come out of the period of the end of slavery and on to life afterwards.  Babies killed to save them from the harsh life of slavery, a mother’s madness, and a young girl who lives with a ghost.

Myers, Tim

• Death Waxed Over ***

Fiction.  Third in the cozy mystery series set in a candle shop in North Carolina.  Harrison is determined to set up a stall at the local fair, even though Eve is against the idea.  He figures it will bring new customers to his shop.  When he arrives, he comes face to face with his rival, Gretal Barnett, who has opened a new candle shop in Micah’s Ridge.  They have heated words in front of a group of fair-goers, then each goes on their way.  Later, as Harrison is walking back to his stall after grabbing a quick breakfast, he passes Gretel’s booth.  As he glances at her, a bullet shatters through her chest, and she falls to the ground dead.  Immediately, a woman in the crowd starts yelling that she saw Harrison shoot her, and Harrison begins the quest to prove his innocence.

• A Flicker of Doubt ***

Fiction.  Fourth book in the cozy mystery series surrounding a candle shop, At Wick’s End.  Harrison is enjoying a kayak trip down the Gunpowder River, when he suddenly bumps up against what he thinks is a submerged log.  Curiosity changes to horror when he realizes it is the body of his ex-girlfriend.  The sheriff thinks she committed suicide, but Harrison is convinced her death is something more sinister.

• Snuffed Out ***

Fiction.  Second in the cozy mystery series set in Micah’s Ridge, North Carolina.  Harrison Black own At Wick’s End, a candle shop in the River’s Edge shopping complex, which he also inherited from his great-aunt.  As landlord, he has to deal with the various tenants, some of whom are quite eccentric.  While trying to discover why the electricity has gone out after hours in the building, he finds that the door to one of the shops is unlocked.  Entering the shop, he sees the lifeless body of the pottery shop owner on the floor.  He assumes it was an accident, but is surprised when the chief of police reports that it is a case of homicide.

• Waxing Moon *

Fiction.  Short story in the Candle Shop mystery world.  Harrison is helping Millie by serving food at a rehearsal dinner for a young couple getting married.  Millie pulls Harrison aside to tell him that her lockbox has been emptied, and she has lost all her money.  Harrison puts on his thinking cap and tracks down the culprit.

Neal, Toby

• Black Jasmine *****

Fiction.  Third in the Lei Crime series set on Maui.  Lei and Stevens have transferred to Maui with Stevens receiving a promotion to detective sergeant.  He and Lei are working out of different offices, though some of their cases are connected.  Lei and her old partner, Pono, who has been promoted to detective and also transferred to Maui, are called out to investigate a possible suicide.  The body of a young woman is found in a car at the bottom of a cliff.  Lei is not convinced this is a suicide, and indeed, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

• Blood Orchid *****

Fiction.  First in the Lei Crime mystery series set on the Big Island.  Lei Texeira is a police officer with the Hilo Police Department and is hoping to move up to detective.  When she finds two girls naked and dead in the water, she petitions with the lead detective, Michael Stevens, to be on his team.  As they investigate the case, they begin believing that the culprit is a serial rapist and killer.  Lei becomes nervous when she begins receiving threatening notes in the mail and is being followed by someone driving a dark Toyota pickup, which is the type of car the police believe belongs to the killer.

• Broken Ferns *****

Fiction.  Fourth in the Lei Crime mystery series.  Lei has graduated from the FBI academy and is a probationary agent on O’ahu.  As she begins to work her first real case, she finds out that her ex-boyfriend/fiance, Stevens, has married a woman that he and Lei had saved from a sex-trade ring.  Lei is devastated, though she hasn’t tried to contact Stevens since she left for the academy a year earlier.  This case brings her back into Stevens orbit when the FBI flies to Mau’i  to trace a young culprit who acts like Robin Hood, stealing from the poor and giving to the needy.

• Torch Ginger *****

Fiction.  Second in the Lei Crime mystery series.  After panicking at the thought of marrying Michael Stevens, Lei breaks up with him and transfers to Kaua’i, gaining a promotion to detective along the way.  She’s heartbroken, but the thought of commitment terrifies her, so she tries to move on with her life.  She discovers that quite a few transient people around the North Shore have gone missing, and after a flood, she finds a sawed-off hand bobbing in the water.  During her investigation, she meets up with a kahu kupule, a Hawaiian spiritual leader, and is introduced to her son, a very handsome developer named Alika.  Her growing feelings for Alika are clashing with the feelings she still has for Stevens, and the situation is even more complicated when Stevens arrives to help out on the case.

Roberts, Nora

• Heart of the Sea ****

Fiction.  Final book in the Gallagher’s of Ardmore trilogy.  Trevor Stiles, a wealthy Irish-American developer has arrived  in Ardmore to oversee the building of his theatre, which will connect to the Gallagher’s pub.  Failed once in love, he has no intention of setting himself up for failure again.  Darcy Gallagher, local beauty with an angel’s voice, believes only fame and riches will give her what she wants.  When the two of them meet, it’s as if a raging storm clashes the two together, and only if they go against their intentions will an ancient curse finally be broken.

Stowe, Harriet Beecher

• Uncle Tom’s Cabin *****

Fiction.  A story about slavery and some very memorable people, both slaves and slaveowners, and the movement toward abolition.

Books Read - May 2015

Adams, Ellery

• Lemon Pies and Little White Lies ***

Fiction.  Fourth in the Charmed Pie paranormal cozy series.  Ella Mae struggles with her insecurities at being the Clover Queen while also preparing for the History in the Baking cooking festival in Havenwood.  She mourns the loss of her relationship with Hugh and tries to rally her people to ready themselves for a treacherous and magical storm caused by the legendary Nimue.

• Murder in the Mystery Suite ****

Fiction.  First in Book Retreat cozy mystery series.  Jane, along with her great-aunt and -uncle run Stonyton Hall, a large resort known as a book lover’s vacation spot.  Jane sets up a murder and mayhem week where each lodger will come in the guise of a famous detective.  Jane’s own detective prowess comes into play when one of the guests ends up dead.

Alderman, P.J.

• Phantom River ****

Fiction.  Second in the mystery series set in Astoria, OR, where the Columbia River crashes into the Pacific Ocean.  Jo, the only female bar pilot, climbs into a helicopter with two of her close friends who are flying her out to meet a freighter waiting to be piloted in through the dangerous currents and sand bars of the Columbia.  But Jo never makes it to the freighter.  The helicopter dashes down to the ocean, where Jo barely holds on to the wreckage and supporting one of her friends.  Mac, the newly appointment police chief, dives into the icy water to save them.

Beckett, Samuel

• Waiting for Godot *

Fiction.  Play about two men sitting in front of a tree waiting for a guy who never shows up.

Cast, P.C.

• Nyx in the House of Night *****

Non-fiction.  Essays about the world in the YA vampire series, House of Night.

Echeverria, Begona

• The Hammer of Witches *****

Fiction.  Novel set in the early 1600’s in the Basque Country of Spain.  A young girl accused of witchcraft and a priest with a secret of his own stand up to the injustice of the Inquisition. 

Galenorn, Yasmine

• Mist and Shadows *****

Fiction.  Collection of five dark stories of magic and mystery.

Jaffe, Nina

- The Golden Flower ****

Fiction.  Taino myth of how the ocean and Boriquen came to be.

Monteiro, Mariana

• Legends and Popular Tales of the Basque People *****

Fiction.  Collection of legends and ballads of the Euskaldun.

Putney, Mary Jo

• Songs of Love and Darkness *****

Fiction.  Collection of short paranormal stories by various authors.

Reilly, LeAnn Neal

• An Ordinary Drowning ***

Fiction.  First in a series set on a small island off the coast of Puerto Rico.  A dark and more mystical version The Little Mermaid for adults.  Not graphic.  John is a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon who is taking a break from his studies to work on a proposal for his department.    He spends his time diving in the warm waters, but has a panic attack during one of his dives and is saved by a mermaid named Tamarind.  Their love story has a lot of bumps, and they sustain bruises along the way.

Roberts, Nora

• Shadow Spell ****

Fiction.  Second in the Cousins O’Dwyer trilogy.  Meara and Connor have known each other their whole lives and have loved each other as friends and family.  Their relationship changes as the six work together to fight Cabhan, the man, the wolf, the dark sorcerer.  Can they untangle their feelings with the pressure of the fight against evil looming above them?  They must, because Cabhan has Meara in his sights, and Connor and the others must save her life.

Silva, Daniel

• The English Assassin ****

Fiction.  Second in the Gabriel Allon series.  Gabriel, an art restorer, is hired to restore a painting owned by a very wealthy Swiss banker.  On arrival at the house, he finds the Rembrandt on the wall and the banker dead on the floor.  His first impulse is to flee, but he is unaware that his arrival at the house had been monitored, and he was now in danger.

Tartt, Donna

• The Goldfinch ***

Fiction.  Theodore Decker is in trouble at school, so he and his mother have an appointment to meet with the principal.  To kill time, they walk to an art museum, where they are holding a show that Theo’s mother wants to see.  She shows him a beautiful portrait of a goldfinch, that he develops a great liking for.  His mother asks him to meet her downstairs at the gift shop, where she needs to pick up a gift for a co-worker, but as he walks around watching a young girl, a bomb explodes, and his life changes forever.

Webster, Wentworth

• Basque Legends ****

Fiction.  Collection of Basque legends collected in 1879 in the Pays Basque region of France.

Zeppa, Jamie

• Beyond the Sky and the Earth *****

Non-fiction.  True story of a Canadian woman who is contracted to teach English in Bhutan for two years.  She falls in love with the land and the people, the Buddhist religion, and finally with a man.  

Copyediting course

I've started an Intro to Copyediting course through Writer's Digest, hoping to not only improve my own editing, but also to see if it's something I could do professionally.  I find the problem-solving aspect of it very interesting.

Last month I sent off a poem to a Pagan magazine but haven't heard back if they'll publish it or not.  There's no money involved, but that's not always the point, is it?

Also submitted another poem for a competition but won't find out the results until June.

And again, I've participated in the Writer's Weekly 24-hours Short Story contest.  It's quite invigorating, I don't know the topic or the word count until the contest begins, so it's always very fresh.  I won't know the outcome of this contest for six weeks.  Just participating excites me, motivates me, and is just plain fun!

I'm still planning on moving up north, but rentals in my price range are few and far between.  I won't give up.

Books Read - April 2015

Bowen, James

• A Street Cat Named Bob *****

Non-fiction.  A story of second chances for a recovering addict and a ragged street cat and the very special bond they’ve formed.

Connolly, Sheila

• Once She Knew ****

Fiction.  Claire is taking a sabbatical year from teaching English at a small college to write a book on feminism.  Unable to concentrate while living in town, she borrows a cabin on a lake in Maine.  In the middle of the night, the door flies open, and a man with a gunshot falls onto the cabin floor.  As if not shocking enough, Claire realizes that she recognizes the man, and when he tells her the FBI is after him, she must make up her mind whether to help him or not.

Cornwell, Patricia

• From Potter’s Field ***

Fiction.  Sixth book in the Kay Scarpetta mystery series.  Once again, Temple Brooks Gault is leaving bodies around to be discovered, and Kay works with law enforcement officers to stop him from killing.  This time he has an accomplice, and ex-lover of Kay’s niece. 

Galenorn, Yasmine

• The Men of Otherworld 2 *****

Fiction.  Second of The Men of Otherworld short stories, starring Vanzir, Smoky, Bruce and Morio.

Hamilton, Lyn

• The Maltese Goddess ****

Fiction.  Second in the Lara McClintock mystery series.  Lara is hired by charismatic architect, Martin Galea, to furnish his new house in Malta with some pieces from her shop in Toronto.  While waiting for the furniture to be shipped, Lara moves into his house on the island.  Strange things begin to happen, a dead cat is found hanging at the house one day, and a hooded figure is seen in watching the house at night.  When the furniture finally arrives, Lara is surprised to find a large chest that wasn’t meant to be in the shipment.  When she opens it, the mysteries deepen.

Kavanagh, Brian

• Capable of Murder **

Fiction.  First in the Belinda Lawrence mystery series set in England.  Belinda has recently moved to England and inherited a cottage in the country from her great-aunt.  Right away, Belinda suspects that the fall down the stairs that killed her aunt wasn’t an accident.  She feels someone watching her all the time, and when she comes home to find the cottage ransacked, she knows for certain that someone is after something there.

Lawrence, D.H.

• Lady Chatterley’s Lover *

Fiction.  Connie, Lady Chatterley, is married to a man who came home from the war paralyzed from the waist down.  Theirs is not a passionate romance, rather they came together because they suited each other mentally, but over time, that is not enough for Connie.  She seeks her passion in the arms of the estate gamekeeper, Oliver Mellors, and becomes pregnant by him.  Connie’s husband, Clifford, wants her to have a child by another man so he can claim it as an heir to the Chatterley fortune and lands, but in the end, Connie decides she’d rather leave him to be with Mellors.

Palmieri, Suzanne

• The Witch of Little Italy ****

Fiction.  Eleanor Amore is pregnant by her abusive college boyfriend and runs to her mother for help.  As usual, Carmen is not sympathetic and tells Elly to take care of her own problems.  The answer is clear, and Elly moves in with her grandmother and great-aunts in an old Victorian in the middle of the Bronx.  They come from an old line of women with The Sight, something that Elly is only now learning about.  There are holes in her memory, but she vaguely remembers her previous visits to the house and some happy times she had there.  Filling in those holes and learning why seven members of her family all died on a single day and what the great secret is that she can’t remember, reveals the magical and tragic history of the Amore family.

Patterson, James

• The 5th Horseman ****

Fiction.  Fifth in the Women’s Murder Club mystery series.  Mysterious deaths are occurring in the local hospital.  The victims are patients who should have been recovering but suddenly are found dead with metal coins over their eyelids.  The Women’s club has to try to solve the murders, which hit at home when one of the women’s mother becomes a victim.

Roberts, Nora

• Jewels of the Sun *****

Fiction.  First in the Gallaghers of Ardmore trilogy.  Jude, an American divorcee, leaves her job teaching psychology in college to spend six months in Ardmore, Ireland, the land of her ancestors.  Her divorce had hurt her more than she realized, and she is in need of solace and quiet to figure out what to do with the rest of her life.  Faerie Hill Cottage, the quaint home of her granny’s youth, is picture perfect, and Jude settles in quickly.  She thinks she can find the peace she needs in her life until she walks into Gallaghers pub and comes face to face with Aidan Gallagher.

• Tears of the Moon *****

Fiction.  Second in the Gallaghers of Ardmore trilogy.  Brenna O’Toole and her father are the local handymen.  She grew up running in and out of the Gallagher’s house with the daughter of the family, Darcy, and almost as a near-sister to Darcy’s two brothers, Aidan and Shawn.  When she realizes that there is an attraction growing for Shawn, she isn’t quite sure what to do about it.  With a straightforwardness that stuns Shawn, she throws herself at him, offering to share his bed, though not his heart.  Shawn anguishes over his growing feelings for her and gains useful insight from Carrick, the faerie prince.

Rowland, Laura Roh

• The Snow Empress *****

Fiction.  12th book in the feudal Japan mystery series starring samurai Sano Ichiro.  Sano’s son has been kidnapped, and Sano wants to stay in Edo to look for him, but the Shogun sends him north to Ezogashima, accompanied by his wife and several close friends.  There is a rumor that Sano’s son will be found there, so Sano is willing to travel to the island to take care of the political problem the Shogun is having with the local clan leader.  They are assisted by the Ezo, a people better known as the Ainu, and Sano must solve the murder of the clan leader’s Ezo mistress who has taken possession of his body.  The climate between the Japanese and the Ezo heats up when both sides are blamed for the murder, and Sano, Reiko and their friends are the only ones who can stop the war.

Rucka, Greg

• Whiteout Vol. 1 *** 

Fiction.  First in the Carrie Stetko series.  Marshall Stetko works in the Antarctic trying to keep people safe.  When she starts finding bodies, she teams up with a British spy to solve the murders.

• Whiteout Vol. 2 **

Fiction.  Second in the Carrie Stetko series set in Antarctica.  Fourteen Russians are killed and their base in Antarctica.  When they’re found, the authorities realize that the camp has been hiding a cache of weapons, including some nuclear warheads there.  Carrie, who has been wintering in New Zealand, is ordered back to the ice to find the weapons before Russia can hide them again.

Stewart, G.

• Haunted Scottish Castles and Houses ***

Non-fiction.  Third in the Haunted Explorers series.  More haunted buildings in Scotland.

• Scotland’s Hidden Hauntings ***

Non-fiction.  First in the Haunted Explorers series.  Hauntings around Scotland.

• Scottish Ghosts and Witches ***

Non-fiction.  Second in the Haunted Explorers series.  Hauntings and tales of witchcraft in Scotland.

Wyld, Evie

• All the Birds, Singing *

Fiction.  Jake owns her own sheep station on an island off Australia, where something is hunting and killing her sheep.  In the past she has worked as a shearer for other stations and has been a prostitute, after she set her town on fire as a child.

Zafon, Carlos Ruiz

• The Shadow of the Wind *****

Fiction.  The tale of a young Spanish boy who becomes enchanted by a book written by an obscure and very mysterious author.  Daniel makes it his mission to find everything he can about the author, and real life mirrors fiction as young Daniel’s life follows a path parallel to that of the author, Julian Carax.  Danger comes in the guise of a police lieutenant determined to destroy Carax, and Daniel finds himself in the way.

Books Read - March 2015

Behan, Chris

• Exploring Midsomer *****

Non-fiction.  Pictorial essay of the towns and villages filmed in the making of the Midsomer Murders mysteries.

Castle, Angela

• The Purrfect Picture ****

Fiction.  Second book in a shapeshifter series set in Australia.  Tinder Munro is hired by a wealthy businessman to investigate BlackTown and the surrounding forest.  While taking pictures of some big cat paw prints, she is surprised by a gorgeous man who quickly makes her feel things she has never felt before even during her ten-year marriage to Nick, her ex-husband.  Can she keep the secrets of the town, or will she do the job she has been hired to do?

Chambers, Meg

• Running Wilde ****

Fiction.  First in an erotica novella series starring Winnie Wilde, a recent divorcee trying to figure out what to do with herself for the second half of her life.  Contemplating selling the house she shared with her ex-husband and children, she plans on doing some traveling, plans that get put on hold when she meets a fellow runner and co-owner of the construction company she hired to fix up the house before she puts it on the market.  The age of her grown children, Ben makes her feel beautiful and free, and she looks forward to an uncomplicated relationship with him.

Dugan, Ellen

• Legacy of Magick ****

Fiction.  First in the Legacy of Magick series.  Autumn, a post-grad student, is living with her aunt and three cousins.  She has only recently become aware that they are witches, something her  parents had kept from her as they lived across the country.  But having returned to the family home, Autumn learns there are different types of magick, positive and negative, and while her family practices positive magick, there is another family in town who embraces the negative, and they’re out to regain some property that Autumn’s father had stolen from them twenty years ago.

Gaarder, Jostein

• The Ringmaster’s Daughter *****

Fiction.  Tale of a Norwegian man with an amazing imagination and a gift of creating stories.

Genelin, Michael

• Requiem for A Gypsy ***

Fiction.  First in a mystery series set in Slovakia.  Jana Matinova is a police commander stationed in Bratislova.  She investigates a series of murders that take her to several European countries, where along the way, a young girl attaches herself to Jana who resists taking her under her wing.  The mysterious girl is somehow linked with the murders, and Jana needs to solve them quickly while trying to keep the girl out of harm’s way.

Hoffman, Alice

• Water Tales ****

Fiction.  Two short tales of mermaids, Aquamarine and Indigo.

Houck, Colleen

• Tiger’s Promise  ***

Fiction.  Novella leading up to the Tiger’s Curse series.  Wicked military leader, Lokesh, has a beautiful young daughter named Yesubai, who Lokesh wanted to marry off to a prince.  Not for a political marriage, but in order to kill the royal family and obtain an ancient amulet which would make Lokesh even more powerful than he already is.  Though Yesubai is contracted to marry the elder prince, his younger brother is the one she has fallen in love with.  Yesubai uses her own magical power to save the princes’ lives, giving hers as sacrifice.

Llosa, Mario Vargas 

• Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter ***

Fiction.  Interwoven storylines.  Mario is an 18-year-old news copywriter at a radio station in Lima, Peru.  He is in love with his much older aunt and plans to marry her.  Pedro Camacho is a Bolivian scriptwriter who prodigiously spends all of his waking hours writing very famous radio serials.  Over time, his overwork causes him to lose track of which character is in which serial, even who the characters are.  As Camacho’s plots become more and more confused, Mario is struggling to encourage his love, Aunt Julia, to take his advances seriously, something they try very hard to keep his family from finding out.

Martin, George R.R.

• Songs of Love and Death *****

Fiction.  Collection of short stories from 17 fantastic authors with the theme of star-crossed lovers.

Oyeyemi, Helen

• The Icarus Girl ****

Fiction.  Jessamy is half English and half Nigerian and lives with her parents in London.  She’s a bit odd and doesn’t fit in with the other children, who consequently tease her mercilessly, making her withdraw even more into herself.  On a trip to Nigeria to meet her grandfather and other relatives, she meets a mysterious girl named Titioba.  Jess can’t pronounce it very well and decides to call her TillyTilly.  Tilly is adept at getting into places she shouldn’t be, but Jess gamely goes along with her new friend..until her friend begins to frighten her.

Tan, Amy

• Saving Fish from Drowning **

Fiction.  A Chinese-American artist living in San Francisco signs on to lead a tour to China and Burma, but before the tour takes place, she is mysteriously killed in her shop.  The other eleven travelers decide to go on without her, not knowing that her ghost will be tagging along for the ride.  The political front is up in arms in Burma, with the military junta controlling the country by violence.  During an early Christmas morning jaunt, the American tourists suddenly disappear, and the whole world becomes aware of their plight.

Weiland, K.M.

• Structuring Your Novel ****

Non-fiction.  How to construct the various parts of a novel.  Showing the different parts of the entire plot, each scene and down to each sentence.

Weiland, K.M.

• Structuring Your Novel Workbook ****
• Non-fiction.  Workbook that goes along with Structuring Your Novel.